How to Sit (Mindfulness Essentials Book 1)

Every in-breath can bring joy; every out-breath can bring calm and relaxation. This is a good enough reason to sit. We don’t need to sit with an intention like getting smarter or becoming enlightened. We can sit just to enjoy sitting and breathing.

All the mental formations exist in the unconscious mind as seeds. When a seed, for example the seed of anger, is touched, it manifests in the conscious mind and there we call it a mental formation.

“My dear child, I know you are there, and I am here for you. If you have something to tell me, please say it to me.” After some moments, allow yourself to speak as that small child, expressing anything you never got a chance to share.

Then, give yourself a few moments to breathe mindfully and calm your body. Speak to your inner child again, addressing the fears and anger. Let the child know you’ve been listening and that now you have grown up and can protect yourself so everything will be okay.

“Breathing in, I know that this is only an emotion. It’s not the whole of me. I am more than my emotions.”

Sit in order to sit. Stand in order to stand. There is no goal or aim in sitting. Do it because it makes you happy.

Consider daily sitting meditation to be a kind of spiritual food.

There is no separate self. We are a current. We are a stream. We are a continuation.

Bring your attention away from your head and down to your belly, so that you’re no longer thinking and imagining. Just follow your breathing closely.

Writing when your mind is clear after sitting can be very satisfying.